Sharrow

Sharrow

If you are a student or young professional you will love Sharrow’s close proximity to the city centre, Nether Edge, London Road, Abbeydale Road and Ecclesall Road. Property prices in Sharrow are low, but the low prices are coupled with a higher crime rate than other Sheffield areas, a graffiti problem and some not-so-nice blocks of 60’s council flats. Extra caution should be taken when out and about around Sharrow in the evening.

But it ain’t all bad. There is a strong community feel with regular activities happening in and around Sharrow. Diversity is what Sharrow is all about. The yearly Sharrow Lantern Festival invites you to get creative and make a lantern to join the evening parade, the more the merrier! The parade ends in Sheffield General Cemetery, a focal point for the Sharrow community with a fascinating history and a suitably eerie atmosphere. Regular events are held at the cemetery, such as the “Sudden Death” guided walk – a tour of some of the resident’s untimely demise.

The grander properties available in Nether Edge run a short distance over the Sharrow border. Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced “Bouquet” of course) types residing just within the Sharrow border prefer to claim they live in Nether Edge. Apart from a small selection of larger properties, Sharrow is swathed in terraces with a sprinkling of flats and apartments. Most terraces have yards rather than gardens and many properties are shared or have been converted into flats. Sharrow is becoming increasingly popular with students as they get priced out of other areas – the cheap rental prices and excellent location are luring them in.Nearby local amenities include a pharmacy, launderette, a kebab restaurant, chippie, Chinese takeaway, sandwich shop, off license and a small friendly family grocery store – Wostenholm Road. For supermarkets there’s a close by Waitrose and Tesco. If you’re looking for more than the basics or for an evening out, Sharrow is perfectly placed for easy access to three of the liveliest streets in Sheffield.

First up, multicultural Abbeydale Road, at the heart of Sheffield’s “antique quarter”, is packed with unusual shops for an enjoyable afternoon of rummaging. You’ll also find some great restaurants and coffee shops, like the superb vegetarian restaurant Kumquat Mae and bohemian hangout Bragazzi’s. London Road is similarly bustling and multicultural, though the emphasis here is on restaurants rather than retail. Wasabi Sabi serves excellent Japanese food in a light and airy setting. You’ll find cuisine from across the globe on London Road, Artful favourites include The Italian Place and Wild Rice.

Sharrow Vale Road runs parallel to the cosmopolitan Ecclesall Road and is the lesser known of the two, but home to lots of interesting independent shops. These include Gilbert & Son's Antique & Pine Furniture Centre, Greedy Greek Deli and The Porter Bookshop. It also has the expected amenities like a Post Office, chippie and sandwich shops. For eating and drinking on Sharrow Vale Road taste a slice of the Mediterranean Restaurant followed by a pint at the Porter Cottage. Another popular pub to try is the Lescar which plays host to the renowned Comedy Club. Sharrow like most of Sheffield is hilly, but still pleasant for bike riding. If you’re not a fan of biking then hop on a 3,4 or 22 bus which frequently run to and fro between Sharrow, the city centre, Ecclesall Road and Nether Edge.

Sharrow offers some of Sheffield’s best-value centrally located housing. Simple redbrick terraces, with either 2 or 3 bedrooms, line the roads off the lower reaches of both Sharrow Vale and Sharrow Lane. They typically have backyards rather than gardens. A large number of these houses are rented out to students. Like much of Sheffield, Sharrow is built on a hill and as you climb it the housing stock becomes more desirable. The roads between Sharrow Lane and Cemetery Road have sizeable Victorian properties, some of them of grand proportions, which are now either family homes or divided into flats. In southern Sharrow, Psalter Lane also has imposing properties and the medium-sized terraces on the roads descending from Psalter Lane to Sharrow Vale attract a mixture of students and families. Some 1930s semis close to Sharrow Head, and a very few modern buildings, are exceptions to Sharrow’s Victorian and Edwardian norm.

Sharrow is a vibrant area of Sheffield stretching all the way from Ecclesall Road in the west to London Road in the east. Two main roads, Sharrow Lane and Sharrow Vale, act as a corridor running through the district. Sharrow’s diversity, its proximity to Sheffield’s city centre and university campuses, and its enviable local amenities make up for its slightly tatty feel in parts. Sharrow Vale and Ecclesall Road offer excellent local shopping. Wherever you turn there’s a quality local butcher’s, Italian deli, music shop, clothes boutique or antiques emporium. There is also a thoroughly tempting selection of restaurants and cafes offering mouth-watering cuisines from all over the world, both here and on London Road. For the times when you need a supermarket, there is a medium-sized Tesco on Ecclesall Road, close to the lower entrance to the Botanical Gardens. Waitrose is also not far away, at St Mary’s Gate.

Sharrow falls largely within the S11 postcode (Sharrow Vale and Sharrow Lane), but extends into S7 at Sharrow Head, an area that has more in common - in terms of property, price and atmosphere - with neighbouring Nether Edge.

Crime rates in Sharrow are higher than in some other parts of Sheffield, although efforts are being made by the local police to address the problem. Much theft is drug related. Of the local secondary schools for Sharrow, Silverdale performs well in league tables and much better than Abbeydale Grange. Hunter’s Bar Junior School is “very effective”, with attainment well above the national average. Sharrow Junior’s pupils come largely from homes where English is not the first language and it is praised in some respects although it has below average results. Both Hunter’s Bar Junior and Sharrow Junior have linked infant schools.

The General Cemetery in Sharrow is Sheffield’s answer to the famous Highgate Cemetery in north London. With the tombstones of industrial grandees, and ordinary Victorian Sheffield folk, now atmospherically draped in tangled vegetation, it is an enclave of Sharrow where time stands still. It is bordered by Porter Brook, which can also be viewed over a pint from the Porter Brook pub on Ecclesall Road at the western edge of Sharrow.

Sharrow has an ethnically diverse population, with many nationalities represented in its melting pot. London Road is a center for the Sheffield’s Chinese community. Sharrow is also socially mixed and families rub shoulders with young professionals and party-minded students. The significant student population in Sharrow has grown over recent years, displacing some longer-term residents and giving parts of the area a more transient feel. Sharrow also attracts bohemian types and has an arty vibe that has given rise to local galleries and arts projects.

Sharrow’s proximity to the center of Sheffield and good bus links mean that using public transport is generally not a problem. In rush hours, though, traffic can often be jammed. Parking can be something of an issue: the council is considering introducing residents’ permits to counter the problem of commuters filling local streets with their cars and then walking into Sheffield’s centre.